Best Places49836, MI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 49836, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
49836 ranks 27,357th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 49836
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
49836's strengths and weaknesses
Where 49836 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 76% of zip codes
Where 49836 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 7% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 49836
A household needs to earn about $47,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 49836 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $60,777, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 49836's effective rate of 0.86%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 49836
49836 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 49836.
Who works in 49836, and how
Work in 49836 centers on health care & social and public administration. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 49836
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 49836.
What the weather is like in 49836, month by month
49836 sees roughly 99 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 78 degrees. January highs sit near 26, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 20° | 14° |
| April | 47° | 38° | 30° |
| July | 78° | 66° | 56° |
| October | 55° | 47° | 40° |
Flying in and out of 49836
The nearest airport, Chippewa County International, is about 66 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Mitchell International, about 247 miles away.
The best schools in and around 49836
Schools across 49836 average a D+, better than 14% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- William G Mather Elementary SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Emerald Elementary SchoolC− · 25% proficient
- Three Lakes AcademyD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Manistique Middle And High SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Munising High And Middle SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 49836 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
49836 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 49836 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 49836
Is 49836 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 49836 ranks 27,357th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, quiet, and tree cover, and lowest on distance from a big city and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 49836 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $178,533. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $60,777 median income, cost of living beats 28% of zip codes.
Is 49836 safe?
49836 is safer than 34% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $420 per resident a year.
Compare 49836 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 49836. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 49836 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
49836 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 49836: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 49836: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 49836: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 49836: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
49836 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.